Win­ter Trails

Ex­panded For­mat for 2017

In­stead of be­ing just a one-day event for chil­dren and adults new to snows­ports to try snow­shoe­ing and cross-coun­try ski­ing for free, it has now be­come a month-long se­ries of events. Jan­uary 2017 is now Win­ter Trail's month, which pro­vides a chance to dis­cover the great fit­ness and so­cial ben­e­fits of these easy-to-learn win­ter sports. There are no trail or equip­ment fees for par­tic­i­pants of Win­ter Trails Days.

Win­ter Trails is a col­lec­tion of events at more than 100 lo­ca­tions around the coun­try that pro­motes snow­shoe­ing and cross-coun­try ski­ing. It draws more than 11,000 chil­dren and adults to try these ac­tiv­i­ties ev­ery year. The events are bro­ken down into two cat­e­gories: An­chor Sites and Af­fil­i­ate Sites.

The An­chor Sites gen­er­ally host larger events that take place at se­lect lo­ca­tions around the coun­try. They are sup­ported by many of the equip­ment sup­pli­ers who bring demo equip­ment for at­ten­dees to try dur­ing the course of the day. The event staff will help you put on the gear and give you a few tips to help you on your way to dis­cov­er­ing the fit­ness and so­cial ben­e­fits of this easy-to-learn win­ter sport.

If you al­ready know how to snow­shoe or cross-coun­try ski, Win­ter Trails events are great op­por­tu­ni­ties to test the dif­fer­ent mod­els of snow­shoes and skis with knowl­edge­able reps and staff who can help you to make sound buy­ing de­ci­sions at your lo­cal re­tailer.

Win­ter Trails pro­grams and ac­tiv­i­ties vary in size and scope, as each venue chooses a pro­gram that will in­tro­duce these sports to its com­mu­nity. Af­fil­i­ate Sites have smaller events run en­tirely by the lo­cal re­sort or event host. These are gen­er­ally more in­ti­mate events. There are ap­prox­i­mately 100 of these events across the coun­try.

(far left) Win­ter Trails of­fer a great op­por­tu­nity to try out new equip­ment and per­haps a new sport.

(above) Dis­cover a few tips to help you on your way to dis­cov­er­ing the fit­ness and so­cial ben­e­fits of win­ter sports.

(left) More than 11,000 chil­dren and adults try these ac­tiv­i­ties each year.